DHS keeps TPS protections for Ukrainians and Sudanese pending final decisions

The Department of Homeland Security said Sunday that immigrants from Ukraine and Sudan enrolled in Temporary Protected Status would retain their protections for now. They can continue living and working in the United States without facing deportation under the program, although their protections had been scheduled to end Monday.

DHS said final decisions on the two programs would be made at an appropriate time. Until those decisions are announced, enrolled Ukrainian and Sudanese nationals will remain protected. The department's statements did not constitute final decisions on the programs.

Congress created Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, in 1990. It allows the U.S. government to provide temporary protection from deportation and work permits to immigrants with or without legal status whose home countries face armed conflict, environmental disaster or another crisis making return unsafe.

The Biden administration announced TPS for Ukrainians in spring 2022, soon after Russia's full-scale invasion. Sudan's program dates to the late 1990s, with successive administrations extending it because of armed conflict and political turmoil.